The House and Senate meet briefly in a week shortened by party retreats. At their retreat, the House majority laid out an ambitious 200 day agenda, to replace the Affordable Care Act, overhaul the tax code and pay for President Trump's border wall, but lawmakers left the retreat without a clear plan on how they would fulfill those goals.

The White House had a busy week of executive action, with the president signing executive orders, most notably issuing an executive order temporarily blocking entry of all refugees to the United States for 120 days while barring entry for Syrian refugees for an undetermined amount of time. It also bars citizens from Iran, Iraq, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen from entering the U.S. for 90 days. Each of those seven countries are majority-Muslim. In addition, he also issued an executive order that would begin his effort to build a wall along the U.S.-Mexico border. The authority exists to do so, but the funding does not, he has suggested taxing imports from Mexico as one way to pay for the way. Finally, the president withdrew from the Transpacific Partnership trade pact, as well as renewed approval for the Keystone XL pipeline.

This Week

The House is pivoting towards undoing some of the previous administration's end of term regulations, three of which on deck to be addresses this week were approved following the November elections. One of those rules was designed to limit coal mining pollution in streams, while another moved to add Social Security disability recipients considered unable to manage their affairs to the national instant criminal background check system for gun purchases.

The other rules set to be addressed include a Securities and Exchange Commission rule requiring oil and gas companies to reveal payments made to foreign governments; an Interior Department rule to reduce methane pollution from oil and natural gas wells on federal land; and the Labor Department's rule to require certain federal contractors to report recent labor law violations.

The Senate is expected to concentrate on executive branch nominees. Floor votes are expected on Secretary of State nominee Rex Tillerson, as well as Transporation Secretary Elaine Chao. In committees, Attorney General nominee Jeff Sessions and Treasury Secretary nominee Steve Mnuchin are hoping to advance out of committee.

Item of Interest

Battle-lines are being drawn and it's appearing more and more possible that a tax may be levied on imports, which could affect retailers, apparel companies, electronics and many others. This week, on February 1, ASA and others in the business community will launch a coalition in opposition to the border adjustment tax (BAT) will launch. It will be dedicated to educating lawmakers, the media and consumers on the impact the proposed BAT will have on the price of everyday products.

PoliticoPresident Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring that for every new federal regulation implemented, two must be rescinded.
"This will be the biggest such act that our country has ever seen," Trump declared moments before signing it inside the Oval Office. "There will be regulation, there will be control, but it will be a normalized control where you can open your business and expand your business very easily. And that's what our country has been all about."READ MORE

The HillThe White House has scrambled the congressional debate over a border tax by injecting the controversial issue of how to pay for a wall on the Mexican border into the discussions.
During a speech to congressional Republicans in Philadelphia, Trump suggested that tax reform could be a vehicle to achieve his goal of paying for the wall.
"We're working on a tax-reform bill that will reduce our trade deficits, increase American exports and will generate revenue from Mexico that will pay for the wall, if we decide to go that route," he said.READ MORE

Roll CallSenate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell offered some skepticism of President Donald Trump's executive order temporarily barring refugees and immigrants from certain countries, but declined to offer a "blanket criticism" of the order.
Trump issued an order recently evening that banned for 90 days citizens from Syria, Iran, Iraq, Somalia, Libya, Sudan and Yemen. Syria, Iraq and Somalia were among the top five countries of origin for refugees entering the United States in 2016, according to the State Department.READ MORE

The HillThe conventional wisdom among pundits and in the subterranean pathways of the Capitol building is that the new administration and Congress cannot do tax reform, repeal and replace ObamaCare, and keep the debt down.
The naysayers are wrong. This is a "have your cake and eat it too" moment.
The goals are attainable. In healthcare, the goal is to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act with a system that delivers better quality healthcare at a lower cost. This is certainly doable.READ MORE